a party for Charlie

Let me guess, you're thinking... "A party for Charlie... What about Thanksgiving?" 

Right?

Well I had a wonderful Thanksgiving... gorged myself silly and enjoyed every minute.

I just took no pictures...

So, that's why I am not blogging about it...

However.

My sister and her family came into town from California.

She brought Charlie... my favorite niece, for the next few months anyway..until Sara (my sister) has her second child, another girl... then I will have 2 favorite nieces...

And it was Charlies birthday.

Her1st one.

And I got to plan it.

Right down to her outfit.

I had fun.

Too much.

It was splendid.

and to make up for my lack of photos regarding Thanksgiving...

I took about 900 of Charlies 1st birthday party.( I am a fabulous Aunt!... and humble...)

So feast your eyes inter-webby friends, and revel in the awesomeness that is

Charlie and her1st birthday party!

I decided to do a Candy Land theme. Cute, girly, bright.. CANDY!!! Need I say more? I love the picture on the bottom right... such a girly table and 3 boys chowing down on cake...

How cute is she?!?!?!? 

Charlie likes being the center of attention...she gets that from a certain fabulous aunt...

It was a great night of family and friends, cake, pink, presents and small people (kiddos).  I am so happy Sara, Ryan and Charlie were able to come into town... and let me plan a girly birthday party.

It. was. Awesome.

yet, it made me realize... Ryder turns 1 in 7 weeks... and I have not put 1 thought into his birthday...EEEK!

I have some planning to do!

He's gettin' there...

Last evening we were over at my parents house. It was the first time the walker hasn't run off with out Ryder... so he was actually walking behind it, not half-running and then falling on his face behind it. I think it helped that they have carpet... we have hardwood. He looks like such a big boy! And he was super proud of himself... big smiles and squeals, although that came after I turned the camera off...sorry.

and, yeah, it's LATE Novemebr and that Captain is in shorts...

the everyday crazy

Hi.

Remember me? I used to blog here regularly.

Or, at least, semi-regularly.

I now post new and exciting run of the mill, ordinary things all nilly-willy in hopes that maybe someone besides my mom will read.

There is no big, important reason for my big lapse of inter-webby silence... just life, you know?

It got a bit crazy.

and busy,

and maybe a tish bit overwhelming...

but really... that's just life.

And when life gets crazy, busy and slightly overwhelming, sometimes you drop a ball or two (or 9).

What's been going on, you ask?

Well... since you asked...

colds, teething, laundry, some fun side projects, my Grandma had heart surgery, laundry, dishes, feeding kids, changing kids, bathing kids, laundry, getting sucked into a couple of books I couldn't put down , and a big change in our family schedule.

Why the big change? Well 2 reasons. Reason A) is because the Captain is helping coach a local HS basketball team and practices are in the evenings... so no daddy at home. Reason B) is  the Captain lost his job... So now he is home all day, thus disrupting my groove.

see...crazy, busy, tish bit overwhelming...life.

However, it has not kept me from being a mama to my precious, loud, energetic and messy boys.

Lately, we have been enjoying 2 new and entertaining ways to pass the time.

#1. The tunnel.

For his 1st birthday, Rigg received a tent and tunnel from my Aunt.  One of the boys new favorite things is to get the tunnel out and crawl through it, play in it, throw toys down it, look through it, yell in it, and carry it about the house like a dog on a leash.

#2. Playing/Jumping together in the crib.

Both boys love to be in the crib together. Rigg loves the bounce factor and jumps and bounces until I am a bit sea-sick just watching. Ryder is just ecstatic that Rigg is in his crib. So He laughs and giggles at everything Rigg does. And since Rigg mostly jumps, Ryder mostly gets tossed and jumbled about, which he seems to find delightful. Because most of the activity going on in the crib is fast-jumpy-motion...all my pictures are blurry. And though it pains me to put blurry sub-par pictures on my blog, I will suck it up and do it anyway...because you really should see how much fun they have...it is cute, even if it is blurry.

oh... and Ryder got a haircut. And now eats graham crackers.

How to re-do a dresser {part 2}

You might remember from this post, that we were in the process of re-doing an old dresser.

We found the dresser at a local Salvation Army... for a whopping $17!

And then I hatched a plan to make it into a lovely blue-teal wonder.

and I made theCaptain buy paint... too much paint.

(oops... now I am going to have 2 lovely blue-teal pieces of furniture...poor me..hehe)

and then we began.

How to re-do a dresser {part 1}

After Lunch, put kids down for nap.

Breathe deep, satisfying sigh of relief.

Go back outside, surround yourself with drawers and start to paint.

Make sure to carefully record paint color for later reference or touch-ups.

Gaze longingly at still-wet dresser through your kitchen window while waiting for it to dry.

Get side tracked with children and store still-tacky dresser in garage to dry completly.

and then get VERY busy with life... and leave it in garage for another month and a half.

Get upset with yourself for letting your really fabulous dresser sit in the garage all lonely and abandoned.

THEN

Scuff and destress the lovely blue-teal wonder of a dresser.

get that bad boy inside so you can stare at it intermittantly throughout the day.

Take some pics and post to blog on internet so all the world can see how long it took you to complete a project.

Congratsulations... if you followed the above steps, you have successfully re-done a dresser!

Stuff with clothes and enjoy!

for the hard things: giveaway winner!

Well folks, we have a giveaway winner.

You might remember...for the hard things, a book I made to be a help in trials...a sort of handbook in hard times... I wanted to give one away.

And because I want you to share in the excitement of WHO won...

and because I am SO organized and technologically advanced...

I took pictures of the EVENT.

yes... I said EVENT (in all caps) so you would get all excited and hopefully get a tingly feeling run up and down your spine...

Did it work?

no?

No worries, we shall proceed anyway.

First I laboriously and painstakingly counted and labled each comment by number...

with a purple crayon.

Then, I carefully and evenly folded wadded up each cut out number...

Next, it threw them in one of the boys hats,

and had Rigg choose...

He had no idea what was going on, but he was super excited to participate...

and he chose....

can you stand it?

#

Congratsulations Boyka! Email me (carichastain@yahoo.com) with your info so I can mail you your book!

Didn't win? Super bummed? Want one anyway?

Click here to buy one.

my grief story

I have needed to do it for awhile.

It was just time consuming...and work... and time...

and I have no time.

 ever

I have children...not time.

BUT

It is important.

So.

I worked on it.

and now it is done (enough)

I have felt for some time now that my blog needed to be easier to navigate.

Specifically for those directed here to read about Caden... and loss... and grief.

Because my life looks dramatically different now then it did 2 or 3 years ago. And a sad, heart-sick mama who comes here to read about Caden gets smacked in the face with 2 adorable, smiley and very alive little boys... which could be a bit unhelpful to her.

SO.

I needed a one-stop place where all my God-praisin', question askin', soul-searchin', heart-wrenchin', laughin', cryin' and sometimes completely undirected posts could sit all cozy together and wait. Wait for a person in need of a story. One they can relate to... one they can cry with... one they can be sad with... and hopefully laugh along with...

A place for my grief story.

Just that.

No tumor.

No pregnancy tales.

No Rigg stories... no Ryder stories.

Just posts about Caden and God bringing us through the fire.

So here it is... it is over on my sidebar.

If you want to just read about Caden...this is the place.

If you ever direct anyone to my blog because they have experienced a loss... make sure you tell them about the link on the side. Right under Our Story.

My Grief Story.

*********************************

Less then a day left for the giveaway!

ENTER!!!

a couple of things...

He WOULD NOT sit or stand next to thing 2...

He would not leave his "name sign"alone...

Getting them to keep their "hair" on was next to impossible

butt  ahem...but when they did

Thing 1 and

Thing 2

were SUPER cute.

****************************************************

Don't forget about the

for the hard things giveaway!

for the hard things {giveaway}

It was a long, strange, sad and beautiful week.

My heart hurts... but I am reminded of HOPE.

I was able to spend time with my friend Lauren, who said goodbye to her sweet baby boy last week.

I remember what it felt like those first few days after Caden died.

The quiet.

The tears.

The ache.

The overwhelming saddness.

How the world kept turning, clocks kept ticking by seconds, minutes, hours... like nothing had changed.  How could that be when my whole world, my whole life, Lauren's whole life, had stopped...crashed and broken into a million pieces... how?

I remember.

And I think, this past week, when I was able to talk to Lauren... to my friend Ashley (who said goodbye to her son Jonah last week), God answered a prayer.

After Caden died I asked God to show me small glimpses of why. Why her, why me, why this...

God has so overwhelmingly comforted, encouraged and strengthened me. He has given, and given and given. He has shown mercy and grace and love beyond measure. I have been humbled and brought low... and I have seen God in a way I never knew before.

He has, in a way, prepared me.

To proclaim his goodness to those who hurt.

To comfort those in pain.

To encourage those bent low under the weight of life.

To stand as an example of God's abundant faithfulness and love.

What an awesome gift... to share about God with others in the hard things.

One of the hardest things for me when going through difficult times is remembering truth when my emotions take off. When I am sad...it is hard to remember God is good. When I am hurt, it is hard to remember God and His comfort. When I am so tired and drained, it is hard to remember God is, and provides strength.

So what remindes me of truth? ... truth itself.

Scripture.

God's word.

The Bible.

I was thinking of this earlier this week and how it is hard to remember...and that you almost need a hand book for hard things. Something you can use for yourself, or give away to those in need.

*lightbulb*

why not make one...

so I did.

and I want to share, because we all go through hard things... and we need reminders of what is true.

and, because I strive to make my life as cute as possible...

 I added color and birds and a massive cute factor.

It is a small, soft cover Blurb book.

and you can purchase one here.

for the hard things

by Cari Chastain

I also want to give one away.

You can keep it... or pass it on to a friend.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post and tell me your favorite go-to scripture for hard times or what you would use the book for.

The giveaway will be open until noon on Friday (November 4th)

I cannot wait to keep these on hand to give to people who need encouragement and comfort from God's word. It is my hope that this little book can be used for God's Glory in all the hard things of life.

a while away

I feel like I have said these words so often lately.

Pray for my friends.

They are hurting... deep, gut-wrenching, can't stop crying kind of hurt.

Lauren and Scott said goodbye to baby Michael late last night.

He is with Jesus.

and my Caden.

I have cried all day long today. Can't stop.

I told a friend earlier today,that although I have been where Lauren is, I still have no words.  Only hugs, prayers and Jesus gets you through.

But mostly Jesus.

I hurt for Lauren and Scott. I remember the hurt... the ache of loss.  The Caden shaped void in my life.

Now they have a Michael shaped void.

The only thing that fills a void like that is HOPE.

I will see Caden again..I just have to wait awhile.

Michael is just a while away now too.

Maybe they are together... giggling at their silly mama's who  have no idea the wonderfulness that is their life.

Because they are alive...

SO alive.

just little a while away.

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

{1 Thess 4:16-17}

Please pray for Lauren and Scott... they are in desperate need of your prayers. Leave a comment here or better yet... hop on over to Lauren's blog... see pictures of her precious son, Michael...and and leave a comment there.

out of the mouth of mommy

do not stand on mickey, you will break him.

DO NOT FLUSH THAT!

no climbing on the tv.

put the pizza roll down first, then climb up the chair.

we do not use chalk on the funiture, the wall, or our brother.

yes, i know we share, but just not popcorn with the baby.

i know we put diapers in the trash can, but only dirty ones, ok? clean ones stay in the bins, ok?

it is not ok to sit on his face.

please do not drive over your brother.

rigg, let ryder drive the train now.

i know, mommy is funny.

i love you too, precious boy!